Community Health Assessment (PDF)

Three Elements of Community Element Examples People Values, beliefs, behaviors, size, membership, demographic characteristics, social and economic status, sense of power or influence, sense of belonging Place Geography, boundaries, housing, industry, air, water, land, virtual presence Interact...

Three Elements of Community Element Examples People Values, beliefs, behaviors, size, membership, demographic characteristics, social and economic status, sense of power or influence, sense of belonging Place Geography, boundaries, housing, industry, air, water, land, virtual presence Interaction Communication, familial, education, religious based, political, recreational, virtual Community as the Context and Recipient of Health Programs • The community must be defined to determine the health program recipients • The community is also the context – Sociopolitical and economic factors influence program planning and implementation – Community members participating in the planning process are the immediate context of the intervention Connections Among Program, Agency, and Community Community Based, Focused, and Driven • Not mutually exclusive • Degree of the three factors varies • The designations can also apply to families, populations, and other aggregates Venn Diagram of Community Based, Focused, and Driven Types of Needs • • • • Expressed Normative Perceived Relative Types of Assessments • Organizational – What is the capability and willingness of the organization to provide the health program? • Marketing – What will draw the target audience into the program? • Needs – What health problems exist, and to what extent? Types of Assessments, Continued • Community health – What are the health problems, and which resources are available to address those health problems? • Rapid – What are the most immediate and pressing needs that can be addressed with readily available resources? • Workforce – Which human resources exist at which level of expertise to address the health needs? Steps in Conducting the Assessment • • • • Involve community members Define the population Define the problem to be assessed Anticipate data-related and methodological issues Principles of Data Collection for a Community Health Assessment • • • • • Collect data from more than one source Involve community members in all aspects Give full disclosure and get informed consent from those providing data Collect data from unlikely sources Be as scientifically rigorous as possible • Needs Assessment Across the Direct services level Pyramid – Focus on a specific medical problem – Community providers’ diagnostic/treatment capabilities • Enabling services level – Social context for those with the health problem – Infrastructure capabilities Needs Assessment Across the Pyramid, Continued • Population-based services level – Epidemiological; magnitude of various problems as well as antecedent and contributing factors • Infrastructure level – Community health assessment to understand problems, social context, and assets – Organizational assessment to identify resources, capabilities, and mission